According to sources within the club, Arsenal have demanded talks with Dr. Erkut Sogut, the agent of Mesut Ozil, to find a solution to the current impasse which has not seen the German midfielder feature for Arsenal since lockdown. It’s believed that Arsenal are going to offer an ultimatum that could see the midfield playmaker spend the remainder of his contract without playing another game for the club.
Mesut Ozil had announced that he wanted to remain at Arsenal, but there has been significant discourse behind the scenes including friction with fellow players and words exchanged between the German and Arteta.
It’s now thought that Arteta has made a stand because the player’s behaviour has had an unsettling influence on some players in the squad. The position is thought to have become untenable and the board wants a solution to an ongoing problem and ultimately a new club. Quite how this will pan out is anyone’s guess, but what is the point of Ozil’s stock diminishing further over the course of next season until his contract finally expires in June 2021.
A source close to the club has intimated that Özil has been guilty of disrespecting some of his fellow professionals but that there have been major misgivings about how he has tried to manipulate the fans into pressuring Arteta to include him.
He has been guilty of using social media to exert pressure and tweeted a picture of himself in training before the Liverpool game with the caption ‘ready’, but the mind games couldn’t even get him a place on the bench. It was a massive miscalculation and one that didn’t go down well at the club or with his manager.
I A M R E A D Y ⚽💥 #M1Ö #YaGunnersYa #teamtraining pic.twitter.com/uVbrjwQjJF
— Mesut Özil (@M10) July 14, 2020
AD understands that Arteta has not spoken to the playmaker for weeks and that he has told the Arsenal board of his feelings. Edu is now said to be dealing with the matter along with Raul Sanllehi as they try to offload the player.
There is growing pressure from Mesut Ozil fans to include him in the Arsenal side. Many are constantly seeking an explanation for his continued absence but Arteta has deflected any questions by saying its an “internal matter”, which suggests that a story that we carried is the root cause of the dispute.
As mentioned in one of our earlier articles, a source close to the club said:
“Özil has refused to show unreserved support for the BLM campaign because Arsenal distanced themselves from the player when he publicly supported the Uyghurs in Xinjiang”
This is unconfirmed but with each passing day, the story gains more credibility, and with each press conference, armed with the knowledge that the German is fit, it becomes clear that something major is going on. When a reporter noted that Ozil was in training, he asked if he was in Arteta’s plans for the Liverpool game. Arteta responded:
“Yeah, he’s been training.”
“I haven’t done the squad yet. But he’s in training.”
It was a short and curt answer to the media and the Spaniard stared as he delivered his icy response. That told you everything you need to know but will Arsenal and Arteta be forced to use Mesut Ozil, if only to justify his wage? Don’t bank on it. Arsenal appears keen to cut a deal, such is the size of the gulf between the two sides at present that the board simply wants him out with or without a fee.
